Past Events
LITTLE JUMBO CREATIVE MUSIC SERIES
Little Jumbo's creative music series functions as a cultural incubator, providing space for the genesis of new musical ideas. Every Monday and Tuesday, we showcase world-class musicians performing original, boundary-pushing work, completely free, no cover charge. This isn't background music; it's music in its purest form: live, unfiltered, and pushing the genre forward in real time. As an incubator, we create space where musicians explore new sonic territories and audiences encounter ideas they've never heard before. Democratizing access to exceptional art is who we are; it's the same philosophy behind everything we do.
Monday
November
17
2025
The CORE
The Core represents everything essential about Asheville's jazz DNA distilled into five musicians who understand that the best ensembles aren't just collections of individual talents—they're alchemical reactions where individual voices merge into something greater than their sum. This quintet embodies the mountain city's unique musical ecosystem, where Blue Ridge authenticity meets sophisticated harmonic exploration, where the intimacy of local venues allows for the kind of musical risk-takin...
- Evan Martin - Drums
- Justin Ray - Trumpet
- Bill Bares - Piano
- Zack Page - Acoustic & Electric Bass
- Jacob Rodriguez - Saxophone
Admission:
FREE!
Sunday
November
16
2025
Casey Driessen: Sunday Bazaar
Casey Driessen: Sunday Bazaar at Little Jumbo is a monthly residency on the 3rd Sunday where music spills out like treasures in a bustling market. Fiddle loops, wild grooves, sonic oddities, and vibrant rhythms mix together in a swirl of color and sound. Tease your tastebuds with expertly crafted cocktails and soak in the cozy, electric atmosphere. No two nights are alike—wander in, follow your ears, and see what you discover.
Admission:
FREE!
Tuesday
November
11
2025
The Empyrean Trio with Special Guests Jason Krekel & Andy Pond
In ancient cosmology, the Empyrean was the highest heaven—a realm of pure fire and light where celestial beings dwelled beyond the planetary spheres, untouched by earthly corruption or temporal decay. It's the perfect name for three musicians who long ago abandoned ground-level groove for something that operates in the stratosphere of sonic exploration.
This isn't fusion. Fusion implies things that were separate. This is music that never acknowledged the boundaries in the first place—music...
- Jason Krekel - Fiddle, Guitar
- Andy Pond - Banjo
- Zack Page - Acoustic & Electric Bass
- Alan Hall - Drums
- Jay Sanders - Guitar and Effects
Admission:
FREE!
Monday
November
10
2025
Quinn Sternberg's Mind Beach
Dive into the sonic waves of Quinn Sternberg's Mind Beach—where jazz becomes a landscape and every note washes over you like tide meeting shore.
This isn't your typical Monday night. It's an expedition into the spaces between beats, where four master musicians construct entire worlds from reed, string, skin, and ivory. Quinn Sternberg's bass serves as your anchor, holding gravity steady while Jacob Rodriguez's baritone sax paints horizons in deep indigo. Joe Enright's drums pulse like the ...
Admission:
FREE!
Sunday
November
9
2025
Tuesday
November
4
2025
Sanders, Boyd, Page & Hall
Sanders, Boyd, Page & Hall distill the pure essence of improvisational expression, converging as alchemists of sound, transmuting musical elements into their most essential forms. This quartet embodies the philosophical concept of quintessence—the fifth element beyond earth, air, fire, and water—representing the fundamental substance from which all musical reality springs.
Their original compositions crystallize the essential qualities of diverse influences, oscillating between through-com...
- Will Boyd - Sax, Flute, Clarinet, EWI
- Zack Page - Acoustic & Electric Bass
- Alan Hall - Drums
- Jay Sanders - Guitar and Effects
Admission:
FREE!
Monday
November
3
2025
Jack Wilkins & Dylan Hannan: A Meeting of Tenor Minds
When two tenor saxophone masters converge at Little Jumbo Bar, expect nothing less than a masterclass in how geography shapes sound. **Jack Wilkins** brings his musical atlas—seven albums worth of landscapes painted through reed and breath, from Canadian Rockies to Appalachian ridgelines, Swedish jazz clubs to Grammy-nominated orchestral suites. His horn doesn't just play melodies; it composes entire emotional terrains, whether channeling Banff Centre residencies or mining Blue Ridge mountain...
- Andy Page - Guitar
- Dylan Hannan - Tenor Saxophone
- Justin Watt - Drums
- Jack Wilkins - Tenor Sax
- Zack Page - Acoustic & Electric Bass
Admission:
FREE!
Saturday
November
1
2025
Día de los Muertos Dance Party
Join us at Little Jumbo for a night where the veil between worlds grows thin and the beats never stop! DJ Lil Meow Meow spins hypnotic rhythms that'll wake the dead and keep the living moving until dawn.
Adorned with marigold petals and flickering candles, our dance floor becomes a sacred space where ancestors boogie alongside the breathing. Paint your face with sugar skull artistry, sip on mezcal cocktails that taste like liquid starlight, and let the music carry your spirit between realm...
Admission:
$5
Tuesday
October
28
2025
Sanders, Boyd, Page & Hall
Sanders, Boyd, Page & Hall distill the pure essence of improvisational expression, converging as alchemists of sound, transmuting musical elements into their most essential forms. This quartet embodies the philosophical concept of quintessence—the fifth element beyond earth, air, fire, and water—representing the fundamental substance from which all musical reality springs.
Their original compositions crystallize the essential qualities of diverse influences, oscillating between through-com...
- Will Boyd - Sax, Flute, Clarinet, EWI
- Zack Page - Acoustic & Electric Bass
- Alan Hall - Drums
- Jay Sanders - Guitar and Effects
Admission:
FREE!
Monday
October
27
2025
Brian Felix Organ Trio w/ special guest Will Boyd
The Brian Felix Organ Trio brings the church to the cocktail lounge on October 27th, with special guest Will Boyd turning sacred fire into sound. Felix's fingers conjure Jimmy Smith's ghost through drawbars and Leslie speakers, walking bass lines with his left hand that make upright players weep with envy while his right hand preaches the gospel according to groove. Behind him, Evan Martin's drums don't just keep time—they tell stories, whispering and roaring in perfect collaboration. Dr. Tim...
Admission:
FREE!
Tuesday
October
21
2025
Sanders, Boyd, Page & Hall
Sanders, Boyd, Page & Hall distill the pure essence of improvisational expression, converging as alchemists of sound, transmuting musical elements into their most essential forms. This quartet embodies the philosophical concept of quintessence—the fifth element beyond earth, air, fire, and water—representing the fundamental substance from which all musical reality springs.
Their original compositions crystallize the essential qualities of diverse influences, oscillating between through-com...
- Will Boyd - Sax, Flute, Clarinet, EWI
- Zack Page - Acoustic & Electric Bass
- Alan Hall - Drums
- Jay Sanders - Guitar and Effects
Admission:
FREE!
Monday
October
20
2025
The CORE
The Core represents everything essential about Asheville's jazz DNA distilled into five musicians who understand that the best ensembles aren't just collections of individual talents—they're alchemical reactions where individual voices merge into something greater than their sum. This quintet embodies the mountain city's unique musical ecosystem, where Blue Ridge authenticity meets sophisticated harmonic exploration, where the intimacy of local venues allows for the kind of musical risk-takin...
- Evan Martin - Drums
- Justin Ray - Trumpet
- Bill Bares - Piano
- Zack Page - Acoustic & Electric Bass
- Jacob Rodriguez - Saxophone
Admission:
FREE!
Tuesday
October
14
2025
Jay Sanders' Quintessence ft. Will Boyd, Alan Hall & Quinn Sternberg
**The Jay Sanders Quintessence** distills the pure essence of improvisational expression, where four musical alchemists converge to transmute sound into its most fundamental form. This quartet embodies the philosophical concept of quintessence—the fifth element beyond earth, air, fire, and water—representing the primordial substance from which all musical reality springs.
Rooted in Taoist principles of interconnectedness, the Quintessence operates as a living system where individual consci...
- Quinn Sternberg - Bass
- Will Boyd - Sax, Flute, Clarinet, EWI
- Alan Hall - Drums
- Jay Sanders - Guitar and Effects
Admission:
FREE!
Monday
October
13
2025
The Page Brothers Django Quartet
When four master stringsmen gather to channel the spirit of Django Reinhardt, expect the kind of musical magic that happens when tradition meets fearless innovation. The Page Brothers—Andy's jazz guitar sophistication meeting Zack's rhythmic prowess that's averaged 275 gigs per year since the '90s—anchor this drummerless exploration of gypsy jazz at its most sublime. Steve Trisman's fiddle brings the fire that transforms contra dance floors into celebrations, while Leo Johnson's golden-era gu...
Admission:
FREE!
Sunday
October
12
2025
Authors in Conversation with Denise Kiernan and Andrew Lawler
CRAFT’s concept is simple:
Denise Kiernan sits down with a writer in this speakeasy setting to discuss not only the writer’s latest publication, but also the craft of writing itself. For each featured author, the Little Jumbo staff will create a specialty cocktail—or mocktail—inspired by either the featured book or the author themselves.
**WHO**
Me, Denise, sitting down with authors from all walks—literary fiction, nonfiction, graphic novelists, mystery authors, romance writers, TV...
Admission:
FREE!
Tuesday
October
7
2025
Jay Sanders' Quintessence ft. Will Boyd, Alan Hall, & Danny Iannucci
**The Jay Sanders Quintessence** distills the pure essence of improvisational expression, where four musical alchemists converge to transmute sound into its most fundamental form. This quartet embodies the philosophical concept of quintessence—the fifth element beyond earth, air, fire, and water—representing the primordial substance from which all musical reality springs.
Rooted in Taoist principles of interconnectedness, the Quintessence operates as a living system where individual consci...
- Will Boyd - Sax, Flute, Clarinet, EWI
- Danny Iannucci - Bass
- Alan Hall - Drums
- Jay Sanders - Guitar and Effects
Admission:
FREE!
Monday
October
6
2025
Soul Jazz Revival
Sometimes the most powerful revivals happen when five master musicians gather in an intimate room and decide to resurrect the soul that made jazz matter in the first place. Jacob Rodriguez's world-traveling baritone sax brings the grit of San Antonio streets and the polish of Grammy stages, ready to channel stories through reed and breath that connect Brooklyn underground scenes to Blue Ridge mountaintops. Quinn Sternberg anchors this sonic revival with bass lines that don't just walk—they pr...
- Quinn Sternberg - Bass
- Joe Enright - Drums
- Andy Page - Guitar
- Alex Taub - Piano
- Jacob Rodriguez - Saxophone
Admission:
FREE!
Tuesday
September
30
2025
The Blingus Trio: Jeff Sipe, Quinn Sternberg & Jay Sanders
In the intimate confines of Little Jumbo Bar, three musical architects will converge to build sonic cathedrals from pure improvisation. The Blingus Trio brings together a trinity of Asheville's most innovative voices: Jeff "Apt. Q-258" Sipe, the Grammy-nominated rhythmic alchemist who transforms drum kits into interdimensional portals; Quinn Sternberg, the gravitational bass force whose four strings hold entire musical solar systems in perfect orbit; and Jay Sanders, the genre-defying guitari...
Admission:
FREE!
Monday
September
29
2025
Justin Ray with the Brian Felix Organ Trio
Justin Ray's trumpet doesn't announce itself with fanfare; it whispers invitations that pull you into the kind of musical dialogue where honesty is the only currency. This isn't flash or fury—this is a catalyst who makes every musician around him remember exactly why they fell in love with playing in the first place. Leading with the quiet confidence that only comes from truly listening, Ray creates gravitational fields where Monday nights transform into Asheville's best-kept secret.
Behin...
Admission:
FREE!
Sunday
September
28
2025
Post-Helene: Remembering, Rebuilding, Reimagining Symposium Closing Celebration
**"[Post-Helene: Remembering, Rebuilding, Reimagining](https://www.posthelenesymposium.com)"** is a faculty-led, campus-wide, community-engaged symposium, funded by the NEH Professorship under the direction of Dr. William Bares (humanities/arts), with assistance from Dr. Megan Underhill (social sciences) and Dr. David Gillette (natural sciences). Spread across UNC Asheville's diverse academic environment and beyond, the three-day symposium offers a place for collective reflection on Helene's ...
Admission:
FREE
Tuesday
September
23
2025
Sanders, Boyd, Page & Hall
Sanders, Boyd, Page & Hall distill the pure essence of improvisational expression, converging as alchemists of sound, transmuting musical elements into their most essential forms. This quartet embodies the philosophical concept of quintessence—the fifth element beyond earth, air, fire, and water—representing the fundamental substance from which all musical reality springs.
Their original compositions crystallize the essential qualities of diverse influences, oscillating between through-com...
- Will Boyd - Sax, Flute, Clarinet, EWI
- Zack Page - Acoustic & Electric Bass
- Alan Hall - Drums
- Jay Sanders - Guitar and Effects
Admission:
FREE!
Monday
September
22
2025
Jacob Rodriguez Quintet ft Jesse Lewis
September 22nd, Little Jumbo Bar becomes ground zero for a musical convergence that reads like jazz fiction: a Manhattan School of Music alum who's conquered everything from Brooklyn underground to Grammy stages, a guitarist the New York Times calls an "articulate ace," and three mountain maestros who've turned Asheville into a secret jazz laboratory.
Jacob Rodriguez's baritone sax rumbles with the wisdom of San Antonio streets and Michael Bublé tours, while Jesse Lewis conjures sonic enviro...
- Jesse Lewis - Guitar
- Quinn Sternberg - Bass
- Joe Enright - Drums
- Alex Taub - Piano
- Jacob Rodriguez - Saxophone
Admission:
FREE!
Tuesday
September
16
2025
Sanders, Boyd, Page & Hall
Sanders, Boyd, Page & Hall distill the pure essence of improvisational expression, converging as alchemists of sound, transmuting musical elements into their most essential forms. This quartet embodies the philosophical concept of quintessence—the fifth element beyond earth, air, fire, and water—representing the fundamental substance from which all musical reality springs.
Their original compositions crystallize the essential qualities of diverse influences, oscillating between through-com...
- Will Boyd - Sax, Flute, Clarinet, EWI
- Zack Page - Acoustic & Electric Bass
- Alan Hall - Drums
- Jay Sanders - Guitar and Effects
Admission:
FREE!
Monday
September
15
2025
The CORE
The Core represents everything essential about Asheville's jazz DNA distilled into five musicians who understand that the best ensembles aren't just collections of individual talents—they're alchemical reactions where individual voices merge into something greater than their sum. This quintet embodies the mountain city's unique musical ecosystem, where Blue Ridge authenticity meets sophisticated harmonic exploration, where the intimacy of local venues allows for the kind of musical risk-takin...
- Evan Martin - Drums
- Justin Ray - Trumpet
- Bill Bares - Piano
- Zack Page - Acoustic & Electric Bass
- Jacob Rodriguez - Saxophone
Admission:
FREE!
Sunday
September
14
2025
Denise Kiernan & Thomas Calder
Join us at Little Jumbo for CRAFT: Authors in Conversation, a series conceived and hosted by New York Times bestselling author Denise Kiernan. On September 14th, Denise's guest will be Thomas Calder, author of The Wind Under the Door and managing editor of Mountain Xpress.
Doors open at 4:00 PM. Conversation starts no later than 4:30 PM. Seating is first come, first served. No registration is required.
Little Jumbo staff creates a specialty cocktail or mocktail for each CRAFT event.
...
Admission:
FREE!
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